A strangely agreeable game for something about people chewed up by the never-ending war machine- it’s outpaced in so many particular ways by other titles but everything here comes together remarkably well. The weapon upgrade system tests your routing just to enough to make the early stages interesting on repeat and the story adds just enough gravitas to the action, so that there’s some catharsis by the time the credits roll (though the most forward-looking part of the game might the unskippable radio chatter- very prescient design!)
Probably limited in its long-term appeal thanks to the relative simplicity of the scenarios; by the time you get deeper into the game and get some of the better weapon upgrades, the level and enemy design has basically regressed to the point being a straight line where you just hold the down fire button and walk to the right. The fundamentals here are strong enough that you could be tested on something that required more precision and positioning on your part, something that the couple of rival fights should fulfill, but that end up being a little trite in their execution.
Pacing is real standout here though and the saving grace for the game’s shortcomings; early on I wanted to say that it was too easy to play defensively thanks to your invincible shield, and while you can play that way part of the time, most of the game’s biggest fights force you to play very aggressively, with countdown timers ticking away in the background and aerials skirmishes where you’re unable to use your shield. They're somewhat removed from the core appeal of the weighty feel of piloting a mech, but ultimately, I think the game finds a nice rhythm over its short runtime.
Like, you can’t rent this- but that’s exactly the kind of niche that this fits into. Great for someone who wants a retro title to dive into for a weekend.
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(And for the sake of clarity, I played the JP translated SNES version, not the “Declassified” release- but I will always defer to the better box art.)
Probably limited in its long-term appeal thanks to the relative simplicity of the scenarios; by the time you get deeper into the game and get some of the better weapon upgrades, the level and enemy design has basically regressed to the point being a straight line where you just hold the down fire button and walk to the right. The fundamentals here are strong enough that you could be tested on something that required more precision and positioning on your part, something that the couple of rival fights should fulfill, but that end up being a little trite in their execution.
Pacing is real standout here though and the saving grace for the game’s shortcomings; early on I wanted to say that it was too easy to play defensively thanks to your invincible shield, and while you can play that way part of the time, most of the game’s biggest fights force you to play very aggressively, with countdown timers ticking away in the background and aerials skirmishes where you’re unable to use your shield. They're somewhat removed from the core appeal of the weighty feel of piloting a mech, but ultimately, I think the game finds a nice rhythm over its short runtime.
Like, you can’t rent this- but that’s exactly the kind of niche that this fits into. Great for someone who wants a retro title to dive into for a weekend.
///
(And for the sake of clarity, I played the JP translated SNES version, not the “Declassified” release- but I will always defer to the better box art.)
Reviewed on May 18, 2023